Chapter 3
I felt his mind traveling into mine. It was like tiny pricks of static. He sifted through my memories. It was strange having him in my head, and thankfully it wasn’t painful. I was beginning to understand he was a powerful creature. It made sense on why the Denynso wanted him so badly. He really was the key to getting back to their power.
As of now they were nasty creatures. They were grotesques and horrible vile things. I knew what they were in the past. What they were before the toxins. Apparently the king could cure them, but he refused. Said they changed because of their selfishness. It was their punishment for wanting too much and expecting it.
The Klimnu were chatty things. They loved talking about themselves and then showing me images of what they used to be. It was no surprise they were a little selfish. They were the ultimate beautiful creatures. And what was beauty was no longer theirs.
I took a deep breath getting out of my own thoughts when I felt a small pain.
I felt Gyyx’s hand on mine and I heard complete and utter silence, all except the sound of my heart beating rapidly in my chest.
* * * *
2 months earlier
“Anna, do you really think I should do it? I mean what if they all think I’m weird or something?”
“Oh honey they won’t. And you aren’t weird, you're a woman who is learning to be on her own. Getting away and gaining new life experiences is what it’s all about”
I shook my head. “I know that but it’s all still so fresh. I haven’t been this person for very long.”
She cupped my cheeks. “That is who you are Leia. Don’t let your past insecurities hold you back.”
I nodded. “Okay I’ll go. It might be good to get away from all the things from my past. I’m having cravings again.”
Her eyes widened. “Fight them sweet heart.”
My eyes filled with tears. “I’m trying.”
She nodded and led me back into the break room. I sat down and while my hands shook Anna handed me a glass of water. It wasn’t what I wanted—what I needed, but having her around to keep my on the right road was helping. If I was alone I would have already cracked.
I closed my eyes and let the coolness from the water ease the ache. I was in control. “Tomorrow I leave,” I whispered. Suddenly leaving to another planet seemed like the best idea I had ever had. I would get away and hopefully learn a lot of new things.
Later that night as I dragged myself up the creaky stairs to the shop I realized a few things. I was slowly overcoming my addiction. Every day was a challenge, but it was worth it in the end.
I stripped off my clothes and fell into bed. I didn’t even bother getting dressed. I was thoroughly exhausted.
* * *
The next morning I woke up feeling both terrified and excited. I was the first from school who signed up for the foreign exchange program. It was a once in a lifetime experience and couldn’t have come at a better time. I had been clean for 3 months. My counselor said I would be fighting for years to overcome this and even then it would always haunt me.
I rolled out of bed and went into my tiny hole in the wall bathroom. It had a shower, a toilet, and hot water. That’s all I needed. I turned on the water and the pipes groaned and creaked in protest. It was an old building. The water got luke warm at best, but I had worse so I couldn’t complain.
I scrubbed clean and stepped out into the cool air shivering. It would be nice to be somewhere different. I hoped somewhere warm. This weather was getting ridiculous. I took the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and unfolded it so I could check the directions to the meeting point one more time. I had never traveled by spaceship before and I was afraid that I would somehow take a wrong turn along the way, get lost, miss my trip to Uoria, and be stuck in the same life with dark memories that haunted me no matter how hard I tried to put them behind me.
The bright green piece of paper led me to one of the university's many outlying study buildings; this one so far at the other end of the campus that I was afraid my short legs weren't going to get me there in time. For a brief moment I entertained the idea of waving someone down and asking them for a ride, but just the thought made my stomach turn as I remembered how many times I had done something similar, and the consequences I had suffered because of it.
Forcing myself to think about something beyond those memories distracted me so much that I almost didn't realize I had gotten to the building. It loomed ahead of me in brilliant chrome and black detailing and for a moment I just stood back and admired it. It was extremely impressive for a building that existed purely for the purposes of housing ships and arranging travel for the students and researchers at the university. I stood on the sidewalk outside and looked at it. Somewhere inside there the crew was waiting for me, waiting to bring me aboard a ship that would take me on a journey far from Earth and far from everything I had ever known, and everything I had been trying to outrun.
I took a deep, steeling breath and strode into the building, exuding as much confidence as I could even though there were butterflies swarming in my stomach. No one I knew had ever traveled off of Earth so I had no one to give me advice on what the trip would be like or how I was going to handle it. This was truly an adventure into the unknown and I was nervous, but ready to embrace it. There was no way it could be worse than anything I had already endured.
The woman at a massive, gleaming front desk looked up at me and flashed a smile so big and bright it looked like she had been rehearsing it.
"Hi," I said cautiously, approaching the desk and holding up the green sheet of paper as if it was my pass to the building, "I'm Leia. I'm here for my trip to Uoria."
"The foreign exchange program!" the woman said with excitement, "They are just fueling up the ship and will be ready to go in a few minutes. Go through that door and go to the end of the hall. Type your name into the keypad beside the door and it will let you out into the loading area. Have a fantastic trip!"
"Thank you."
I followed the woman's point to a tall metal double door at the end of the room and it opened as I approached as if it could sense my presence. It led into a long, wide corridor lined with doors with nothing more than numbers to differentiate them. I followed the corridor to the end and found the keypad by the door. My fingers shook slightly as I typed my name into the keys, but I didn't know if they were shaking more from nervousness or excitement.
The door swung open as soon as I finished typing my name and I stepped out into a huge room that swarmed with people. I waited just inside the door until a woman in a short dress and pointed hat came up, took my elbow, and led me toward the ship in the middle of the room without saying anything to me.
A few moments later I was settling into a large plush seat that surrounded me like a pod, securing my seatbelt as tightly as I could, tucking my small bag in behind my feet. It didn't contain much, only the few articles of clothing I had that I felt comfortable wearing in a school setting and my meager art supplies. I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, knowing this moment was the last of life as I knew it and that soon I would be experiencing something incredible, something that would fuel me to another level of my art.